Do you suffer with moderate to severe knee and/or back pain and are losing your mobility and ability to work or function? Your adult children may be talking to you about considering assisted living one day in the future. Why? Because you are having difficulty moving and you may be on the verge of “Locomotive Syndrome.”
“Locomotive Syndrome” is a condition that results in the inability to move pain-free, without frailty and instability due to impairment of “locomotive components” such as bones, joints, discs, muscles and nerves, which may result in pain, limitations in movement, malalignment, balance issues, and difficulty walking.
Degenerative changes in our locomotive components begin at middle age. One study stated that approximately 40% of people under 30 and 90% of people over 55 show signs of intervertebral disc degeneration of the lumbar spine.
Some obvious causes of “Locomotive Syndrome” are degenerative joint disease, joint osteoarthritis, and osteoporosis – which can make it difficult to walk. A January 2019 article from Modern Rheumatology found that aging, osteoporosis, and low back pain significantly increased the risk of “Locomotive Syndrome” followed by knee osteoarthritis and lumbar spinal stenosis.
If this is not addressed, what may follow is immobility, depression, hypertension and other metabolic disorders, inability to perform activities of daily living, and the eventual heading to a skilled care facility or nursing home.
In a study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine in 2011, the authors reported that the ability to walk ¼ mile had a direct correlation with mortality, functional decline, and health care utilization during the subsequent year. This demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining the ability to walk.
It starts with taking the first steps. Start moving! Start with walking more throughout your daily activities, then, get outside and take an actual walk! What a great place to walk around – SW Florida! If you are unable to walk, come in and see us at Caring Medical in Fort Myers and we’ll help you get back out there!
